Bullpups Compete at State, Bohme Shines in Back-to-Back Personal Bests
McPherson finishes 28th at KSHSAA 5-1A State Meet in Lenexa
The McPherson Bullpups traveled to the Shawnee Mission Aquatics Center in Lenexa this weekend for the KSHSAA 5-1A State Swimming Championships, where Cooper Bohme delivered a standout performance and the team finished 28th out of 43 competing programs.
Friday's prelims saw four Bullpup entries. The 200 Medley Relay team of Ben Bocox, Manny Morales, Beckett Schuckman, and Cooper Bohme turned in a personal best time of 1:52.85 — more than a second faster than their previous mark — but found themselves in a tough spot, finishing just .3 seconds outside of the 16th and final qualifying position for Saturday's finals, landing them as first alternate.
The 400 Free Relay of Bocox, Schuckman, Kurt Mendez, and Bohme met a similar fate, posting a season best 3:45.43 but finishing 17th, just shy of advancing to the B final.
Bohme, however, punched his ticket to Saturday's competition in both of his individual events. He clocked an 11th-best time of 1:56.06 in the 200 Freestyle and matched that finish in the 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:22.83, earning a spot in the B final in each.
On Saturday, Bohme came into his own. In the 200 Free B final, he posted a personal best of 1:54.42 to finish second in the heat and 10th overall. He saved his best for last in the 500 Free, coming from behind to win the heat by a body length with a blistering personal best of 5:17.34, good for 9th overall. The two swims combined for 16 team points.
Reigning three-time champion Andover dominated the meet with 379.5 points, well ahead of Kapaun Mt. Carmel in second with 222.5 and a surprising Louisburg in third with 205. The Louisburg program was the talk of the meet, delivering five gold medal performances including a new state record in the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:34.87.
Despite coming up just short of their team goals, head coach Matt Cotton was proud of the effort his squad put forward.
"On the whole we swam well, with everyone posting personal bests throughout the weekend, but the luck just didn't fall for us this year," Cotton said. "The clock is unforgiving at this stage and the margins of error are extremely slim."
"I'm still very proud of what all the guys were able to accomplish and the work they put in just to get the chance to compete at this meet," he added. "This group of guys never stopped pushing."
Greg Loving
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